For the herby dumplings

Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

250g self-raising flour

2 tbsp chopped mixed herb - try parsley, thyme and sage or chives

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Toss the chicken pieces with the flour and some salt and pepper, to coat them – it’s easy to do this in a plastic food bag.

Heat the oil in a casserole with a lid. Brown the chicken pieces well on all sides – you’ll need to do this in batches. Remove all the pieces to a plate, and tip the onions, carrot, lardons, bay and thyme into the pan. Cook gently for 10 mins until the onion is softened.

Return the chicken pieces, with any juices that have collected on the plate. Then pour in the red wine and tomato paste and crumble in the stock cube. Add a splash of water if you need, until the chicken is almost covered. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 20 mins. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 mins while you make the dumplings.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it feels like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the herbs with ½ tsp salt and some pepper. Drizzle over 150ml water, and stir in quickly with a cutlery knife to form a light dough. Use floured hands to shape into ping pong sized balls.

Place the dumplings on top of the stew and bake for 20 mins more until the dumplings are cooked through.

Tip

If you want to use a slow cooker...

Use boneless chicken pieces as the meat becomes very tender and can leave chunks of stew in the stew. Flour the chicken as above. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken in batches, followed by the lardons and onions. Transfer everything to the slow cooker along with the rest of the stew ingredients. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours. Make the dumplings as above and sit on top of the stew, cook for a further hour, then serve.

Ads by Google

Comments, questions and tips

Comments (31)

twinmummymk16th Nov, 2016

2.5

Made this in our slow cooker but didn't see the tip for using less wine so used the whole amount. It was too much and the taste was overpowering. Think I'll try it again but using only half the amount of wine as had the potential to be tasty!

I made this last night in the slow cooker and it was delicious, like others I used less wine, around a large glass full and I added a little garlic. I'll definitely make this again but I think I'd use suet for my dumplings, I loved the taste of the herbs( I used chives and sage) but I wasn't as keen on the texture so next time I'll stick to suet and I'll add herbs

Oh wow I made this for the first time at the weekend and it was so easy and soon lovely, and I love the dumplings! Hubby wasn't sure if he would as he likes suet dumplings, but yes it was definitely a success for him also. I halfed the amount of mixture for dumplings 70gr butter and 125gr flour and made 5 dumplings which was perfect for the two of us, and I only used 250lt stock and 250lt red wine which was perfect consistency.. It was so good I'm making again tonight! I also added the garlic and mushrooms..

Fantastic casserole. I made two batches - one for our baby with only a couple of lardons and half a very low salt stock cube and one for the grown ups with lardons and normal stock. Both were excellent!

Really easy to cook - I made it I'm the morning then reheated it at dinner. The extra cooking time helped make the chicken incredibly soft. It just fell apart.

Dumplings were perfect - we opted for just sage. They were a bit wet with the water but rolling them with plenty of flour held them together and the were light, moist and tasty.

Made this a couple of night's ago and will defo make again. The pot was empty!! Only changes made were that I used 250ml of red wine (that's all I had). Think a whole bottle of red would be too overpowering as 250ml of red seemed just the perfect taste. Added some garlic and used 2 stock cubes also. Great winter dish!

This was so lovely! I have made this the night before for our camping trip and brought it next day for 5 mums and 9 kids. It went down a treat with everyone and all mums asked for the recipe. Perfect for a rainy day :)

This went down very well with the family and guests. I prepared it earlier and made the dumplings which I left in a roll and wrapped in cling film and placed in the fridge. All I had to do was pop everything in the oven at the precise time. The men loved the dumplings.

I have to live up to a mother in law who makes dumplings so no pressure on me when making this dish! I managed them and they tasted ok I surprised myself. Were they hard of soggy. Maybe it was the water content?

Lovely easy recipe. I followed it for the slowcooker. Wasn't sure of how much wine so bought a small bottle of red (one glass bottle) then added water (used 1/2 of the empty wine bottle as measure). I bought a pack of fillet chicken thighs (7 pieces) and this was enough for 5. Dumplings were a little sticky when added the water so put a bit of extra flour in. Great results as thick sauce which was good as sometimes in slowcooker things can be too watery. I used sage and basil for dumplings as that's all that I had and they were a hit from a 1 year old to a 39 year old. This made enough for 5. A family hit.

This is a lovely recipe. I added some garlic and put some potatoes and carrots in as well while the casserole was cooking. There wasn't much juice left though as the potatoes took it all, but it was very tasty. The dumplings were lovely too. Also put chorizo in, which went well with the chicken. Will definitely do it again, perhaps with beef next time.

Tips (1)

chrisnation8th Apr, 2015

As Raymond Blanc on 'Kew On A Plate' has it - "don't use a wine that cost more than £5.50". In fact, a really cracking Chilean cab sauv that well and truly stands drinking with this casserole, the beef version and many others, can be had - amazing for the money - for £3.99 at the discount s/mkt that rhymes with 'tiddle'.

Reader offer: £40 off delicious meals

Reader offer: £10 off + 2 free craft beers

Skills & know how

As well as helping you decide what to cook we can also help you to cook it. From tips on cookery techniques to facts and information about health and nutrition, we’ve a wealth of foodie know how for you to explore.

About BBC Good Food

We’re all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for some healthy inspiration or learning how to cook a decadent dessert, we’ve trustworthy guidance for all your foodie needs.

Our recipes

All our recipes are tested thoroughly by us to make sure they’re suitable for your kitchen at home. We know many of you are concerned about healthy eating, so we send them to a qualified nutritionist for thorough analysis too.

Follow us

This website is made by BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this page. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.